Bob Gray passes

I got a call this afternoon from a friend in Nevada and he told me the sad news that Bob Gray
had recently died at the age of 97.

Bob is known as the man who worked tirelessly to start and then develop the new Virginia &
Truckee RR in Virginia City, NV. It had been his favorite line and when the opportunity arose to
re-create the famous short line, he poured all of his energy into it. That we have a railroad
to ride today is because of Bob Gray.

During a visit at his home in the Fall of 2012, I learned something more about Bob. He was a
Marine in WW2. He served as a combat photographer in the Pacific and went on to tell me that
he had 3 cameras shot out of his hands while on Okinawa ( I believe I remember this location correctly).
He also said that he never once got to see the results of his risks and labors, his film was turned over to
an officer and sent to the US for processing.

Bob got around as a railfan and shot b&w for years and then slides in later years. He made an early 1960s trip to
Guatemala with Henry Bender and was gracious enough to show me his slides of that trip during our visit.

I found him to be modest, humorous and thoughtful in his speech and actions. Another gentleman of the old school.